NBA Sleeper Teams For 2008-09

While the Celtics and Lakers are garnering all the great expectations contenders inherit during the offseason, other teams are content to be discounted.

There’s an advantage to being underestimated, as the Spurs, who have been “getting older” for the last 5 years (and three championships), will tell you.

Clubs that don’t merit consideration in this article are those that weren’t enormously successful last year but that are definitely being watched this season (ex. Portland, Orlando, etc.)

Last year, the Hornets and Sixers did better than a lot of pundits expected of them.  Who can we look to for unforeseen success this season?  Here’s a few teams to consider…

Toronto Raptors

Last season, the Raptors were a decent club, but soft in play, especially in the middle.  Orlando’s Dwight Howard dominated Toronto in the first round of the playoffs to the tune of 22.6 pts and 18.2 rbs per game, and the Magic made short work of them.

Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo chose to roll the dice, dealing for Indiana’s talented, albeit injury-prone Jermaine O’Neal in hopes of giving All-Star forward Chris Bosh a formidable partner on the front line.

When healthy, O’Neal is a legit low-post scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker.  It’s the “when healthy” caveat that makes this deal a gamble.

Colangelo does deserve kudos for this trade, as it indirectly solidified Toronto’s point guard situation.  With T.J. Ford now in a Pacers’ uniform, Spaniard stud Jose Calderon will be free to run the offense, which he does with uncanny efficiency (8.3 assists in only 30 minutes per game, with a 5.38 assist-to-turnover ratio).

O’Neal isn’t the only “if” the team has.  Third-year forward Andrea Bargnani has a lot to prove after his step backwards last season.  Jamario Moon will need to show he’s more than a slam-dunk contest participant.  Jason Kapono has to take advantage of the open looks he’ll get from the O’Neal/Bosh tandem.

If those things happen, the Raptors might not be extinct when the dust settles in the East.

Phoenix Suns

The franchise faces dominate the perception of this team.  Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal, Grant Hill, Raja Bell…in other words, pundits think this team is waning, old, and on its way out of relevancy.

Management managed to somewhat address this issue over the summer, however. The Suns are hoping two rookies, Robin Lopez from Stanford and Goran Dragic from Slovenia, will spell O’Neal and Nash respectively coming off the bench.

Ditto for former Warrior Matt Barnes, who may actually replace Hill in the starting lineup.

While the bench itself is beefier, the biggest factor in its effectiveness will be how new head coach Terry Porter chooses to implement it.  How quickly will he want to throw the rookies into the fire?  Will he trust them to learn from their mistakes, or the Suns to win without Nash playing prime-time minutes 82 games a year?

Perhaps the biggest factor for the Suns to remain above mediocrity is the progress of their young core of Amare Stoudemire, Leandro Barbosa, and Boris Diaw.

Will Stoudemire’s defense consist of more than weak-side shot-blocking and weak one-on-one positioning?  Can Barbosa harness the reckless energy with which he plays?  Will the real Boris Diaw please stand up?

There’s so much potential for success and failure on this team, it’s hard to predict whether the Suns will rise or fall in 2008-09.  If the aforementioned factors turn in their favor, though, the Suns could have more postseason success than the run-and-gun versions that preceded them.

Los Angeles Clippers

If there’s one thing the rest of the NBA should know, it’s this: don’t sleep on Baron Davis.

Yes, the Clippers lost Elton Brand after nabbing Davis from Golden State.  Take a closer look though, and you’ll see the Clips have a more well-rounded roster than the 2007 playoff darlings from Oakland.

Brand is gone, but former Denver Nugget Marcus Camby is probably the best consolation prize they could’ve hoped for in exchange for practically nothing.  Camby’s athleticism will allow him to play power forward alongside center Chris Kaman, giving the Clippers a frontcourt tandem that averaged a combined 25.8 boards per game last season.

Rebounds lead to fast breaks, and Davis has the chance to run the most dangerous break since Shaq arrived in Phoenix. 

Al Thornton will be entering his second year after averaging an encouraging 12.7ppg and 4.5rpg in his rookie year.  This year’s rookie, gunner Eric Gordon, figures to get plenty of free reign on a team with few expectations.  And the Clips signed swingman Ricky Davis away from Miami, placing him in the much more suitable role of sparkplug off the bench.

It’ll be interesting to see how coach Mike Dunleavy will get all the new parts to mesh together, and by the time he figures it out, it may be too late in the Western Conference.  If the “Davis Effect” takes hold in L.A., though, the Lakers may not be the only team in town worth watching.